RWBY-The Shining Valkyrie
by Jdbl00d
Summary: Nora is often described by Beacon's student body as the most aloof student there is. However, for Teams RWBY and JNPR, when Ren contracts a mysterios illness, they have no choice but to rely on Nora's intimate yet strange knowledge of it to pull him through.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: So I had quite the block for a while and with my busy schedule, I couldn't upload it as soon as I wanted. :(**

**Anyways, I was thinking, why not some Team RWBY and JNPR misadventures with Nora spicing up the whole thing? I didn't want this one to be long, just as humorous as I could make it. Please leave comments!**

Prologue:

Nora ran through the jungle, her heart pounding with every step. She turned and looked back at the hundreds, no, thousands of Beowolves on her tail. She grinned.

The stupid Grimm were blindly chasing her into the elaborate trap she and Ren had set up. It was definitely going to be close though. Despite all their preparations, a legion of Beowolves was still something not to be taken lightly.

Nora burst out of the clearing, running full speed across. She took a quick glance behind as the first Beowolf made into the clearing.

She backed up against the adjacent cliff wall at the opposite of the thick trees from which the Beowolves poured out. Drawing Magnhild, she twirled the weapon as it shifted into its hammer form.

"Here little doggies..." She whispered to herself, jumping from excitement. The Beowolves must have sensed she was cornered, as they howled and charged in.

The entirety of the thousand Beowolves now entered the clearing. Nora flipped her weapon, exposing the small barrel of the grenade launcher hidden within its bulky exterior. With all her might, she slammed Magnhild into the ground, blasting a grenade that propelled her into the sky.

The plan was something borne out from the wildest imagination. The single grenade round detonated upon impact, causing a huge minefield of demolition charges to go off, incinerating the Beowolves below.

Still, something was odd. There were no loud explosions or the clamor of dying Grimm. Instead, all Nora heard was...

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!_

Nora blinked and then, in a split second, she found herself staring at the ceiling of Team JNPR's dormitory.

_A dream?_ She thought to herself. Turning, she reached out, tapping the alarm clock and shutting out the annoying sound for good.

She flipped up from under the covers, the blanket flowing about in the air as she skipped towards the curtains and drew them open.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE UP SLEEPYHEADS!" She exclaimed.

"Ugh..." Came the voice of Lie Ren. "Nora. What are you doing?"

"C'mon guys!" She said through a smile of pearly white teeth. "Class isn't going to wait for us!"

Jaune groaned, pulling his blanket over his face. "Nora, please..."

"Oh no fearless leader!" Nora ran over and pulled Jaune's blanket off. "We have a very packed schedule today!"

Jaune buried his face into the cotton mattress underneath, attempting to shut Nora out. In the last bed, Pyrrha stirred slightly.

"Pyrrha!" Nora said as soon as she noticed the motion of the other girl. "Help me with these guys! They're soooo slow!"

Pyrrha looked up at her. Some scarlet strands of her untied hair stuck out in strange places as she sat upright. With a yawn, she looked at the clock.

"Nora, I think your clock might be broken." Pyrrha exhaled, dropping down on her bed again.

"Why?" The girl asked.

"Because mine says it's still six o'clock." Pyrrha mentioned before sleep won over again.

Nora checked her clock and the other clocks that belonged to her teammates. True to Pyrrha's word, her clock was faster, by at least two hours.

"So that's why I've been going to class early the past few days!" She gasped. "Because I've been leaving earlier!"

"Nora..." Ren moaned. "Please, just go back to sleep..."

Nora did a full somersault onto her fluffy mattress. "Hey Ren? Do you remember the day we took out a thousand Beowolves?"

Ren merely answered with a long drawn out snore.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 1:

Ruby Rose stretched as she climbed out of her bed, landing softly on the ground. Her light footfalls didn't appear to disturb the other members of team RWBY who were still sound asleep.

_Early bird catches the worm._ Ruby thought to herself. _Or, so Weiss says..._

After she had brushed her teeth and took a slight rinse, Ruby came out just as her teammates woke up.

"Morning lil' sis." Yang yawned. "You're up early."

"Seven-thirty." Weiss noted as she glanced at the clock. "That's extraordinarily new for you."

"Couldn't sleep." Ruby replied as she hung up her wet towel. "Maybe one of those days."

"Maybe it's because you did less studying than usual?" Blake mentioned as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Well, there wasn't much we missed from Professor Peach's class." Weiss answered, grabbing her moisturizer and towel. "I think everyone grasped the lesson well."

Ruby thought back to the previous day. She giggled.

Weiss shot her a look. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." Ruby chuckled. "It's just, do you remember what Nora did then?"

The three girls looked at each other. Yang suddenly smirked while Weiss did her best to suppress a chuckle. Blake smiled slightly, then frowned as she remembered something else.

"That wasn't a very pleasant memory for me mind you." She grumbled.

Professor Peach was going on about the remedial effects of the Melforan cactus, a plant that gave off a particularly pungent smell when it was heated. Unfortunately, the class in question required them to make a muscle relaxant rub which required, you guessed it, boiled Melforan cactus paste.

Most of the students had gagged once the fumes had saturated the air within the lab. However, Nora didn't seem to mind at all. She was still the same as she always was. Big smile, big heart.

And a really big affinity for the incredibly weird.

For reasons that were unfathomable, Nora decided to help herself to a whole bowl of the boiled cactus. Before Ren could point out the potentially harmful effects of eating it, Nora had swallowed a good helping of the stuff.

It was then that Nora realized the only thing worse than the pungent smell of the cactus was how bitter it was to the human tongue. Nora instantly spat out the entire bowl, with most of the paste landing on the other person within close proximity, none other than Blake. Even worse was when they discovered the smell could only be removed with a thorough shower.

In a nutshell, Blake reeked for the rest of the day and had to put her clothes through three cycles of washing just to remove the pungent cactus fumes. Subsequently, Nora had gulped down at least four syrup jars to rid herself of the bitter cactus paste, leaving Ren at a complete loss on how to best flavor the next batch of waffles.

"Oops." Ruby gulped. "Sorry. I forgot you were trying to forget the whole thing..."

Blake rolled her eyes. "Don't worry. I just have to start all over."

"Don't worry partner!" Yang came and placed an arm around the Faunus's shoulders, taking a slight sniff as she did. "If anything, I must say that you smell great with essence of lavender and rose!"

"Thanks Yang." Blake sighed. "I was also trying to forget my hour long camping excursion in the bathroom."

Ruby resolved to stop mentioning anything about cactus for the next three weeks and also to ensure Yang didn't. She took out her scroll, looking through the schedule for the day.

"Well, it seems we don't have much today either." Ruby commented. "We only have another class with Professor Oobleck at nine and just one more with Professor Port."

"Huh..." Weiss blinked. "There's really not a lot to do is there? I can't believe I'm saying this, but we might get more time to ourselves for the whole day."

"Well, I did hear most of the teacher's aren't in today." Yang replied. "Wonder why..."

"Maybe they're just handling some Hunter business?" Blake spoke as she headed to the bathroom. "Don't forget about what happened when that huge Nevermore decided to camp out near the city."

The Grimm rarely intruded into human habitats. However, occasionally, Hunters and Huntresses would have to respond to cases of stray Grimm just wandering in. Ruby remembered how classes had to be suspended for the day as Professor Ozpin had called all of their teachers just to deal with the issue. That resulted in more extra classes to be taken over the weekend.

"Ach..." Ruby groaned. "Don't start. It'll probably jinx Weiss's statement."

"C'mon Ruby." Weiss frowned. "It wasn't that bad. Besides, we are training to just like them, so sometimes, we need to accept the extra lessons to fill the holes made in our schedules."

"I know Weiss..." Ruby sighed. "Geez, you don't have to keep reminding me..."

"Well then, stop crying and let's get today over with before something really jinxes our free time." Weiss turned and made her way to the bathroom.

Ruby stared at her scroll. Weiss did have a point. The day itself didn't seem to be that packed. Perhaps they could have their own personal time for self-relaxation after all.

"Well, I'll start planning!" Yang cheered.

"Yeah sis." Ruby smiled. "You do that. Just make sure it doesn't involve any crazy excursions okay?"

Yang winked at her before turning to wait outside the bathroom door.

Little did team RWBY realize that their day was going to be among the most eventful in their whole week.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 2:

The minute Ruby stepped into the cafeteria, she saw something amiss.

Team JNPR had gotten out of bed the same time as them. However, only Jaune and Pyrrha were seated down getting breakfast.

"Hey guys." Ruby greeted them as she sat down at the other side of the table. "Where are Ren and Nora?"

"Ren complained of having a stomachache." Pyrrha replied. "So Nora offered to bring breakfast to him. Not sure what's happened, but I don't think he'll be out of bed for a while."

"Ooooh." Yang smirked. "More love in JNPR..."

This earned her an elbow from Blake and two peculiar stares from Jaune and Pyrrha.

"Think nothing of it." Weiss smiled sheepishly. "Just Yang being well, Yang."

"Right." Jaune and Pyrrha said simultaneously.

"Well, hopefully Nora doesn't overload him with all that bacon." Weiss commented. "If Ren's stomach isn't agreeing with him, it's not healthy for him to swallow too much grease."

"Don't worry." Pyrrha smiled. "I ensured she would only give him toast, yoghurt and some fruit. Though I'm not sure if she should have brought that syrup."

Weiss blinked before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Seriously, that girl eats way too much sugar."

"Hey Weiss," Yang came over. "Wanna bet how long it will take for Nora to gulp down an entire bottle?"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I am not in a habit in making irresponsible deals Yang."

"Oh come on!" Yang beamed mischievously. "It'll be fun!"

"And completely senseless!" Weiss replied.

"Guys! Please..." Ruby said, stepping in between. "Let's not discuss Nora's otherworldly abilities with sugar confectionaries!"

"Okay sis." Yang sighed. "But man, I'd bet Weiss forty Lien if Nora downed it in under twenty seconds."

"Anyways..." Ruby tried pushing them back toward the main matter at hand. "We should find a way to get Ren the notes he needs. It's bad enough that he has a bad stomach."

* * *

Nora opened the door to JNPR's room and found Ren lying where he was since morning. He didn't bother looking up to acknowledge her return. She merely placed the food on the table-as per Pyrrha's instructions-and looked at Ren.

She frowned, creeping close till her face was several inches from his own.

His face was a slight grimace of discomfort. Well, that was obvious considering the upset tummy. But there was something Nora felt suspicious about.

Suddenly, Ren stirred. She pulled herself away just as he coughed, one that was violent and choked on by phlegm.

Nora's eyes widened. Instantly, she thought back to some distant memory years ago. She recognized the disease instantly, but she wasn't too sure. It warranted investigation. She went into her bag and dug through it for a small notebook she kept and turned to the page she needed.

She glanced at Ren and then back to the book.

"No..." She whispered with shock. "No, no, no, no..." She shook her head, her eyes once again darting to Ren and then back at the book. "It can't be..."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 3:

"Now, can anyone tell me the best way to deal with a Beowolf?" Professor Port asked the class. "Mr. Arc?"

Jaune jumped at the mention of his name. "Uh, well. We avoid the teeth and claws. And we also be prepared for when they leap. It leaves them open."

"Very good Mr. Arc. Though a couple of small details you forgot..." The professor nodded. "Remember that Beowolves hunt in packs, all led by an Alpha. Although such tactics are effective, even the best tactic can be ineffective if not used in the proper situation. Now, how do we deal with them when they surround you?"

He scanned the room, eyeing for potential 'victims'. "Ah, Ms. Rose. How about you?"

Ruby blinked. "Uh, well, Beowolves don't often attack all at once. They strike in teams so as to watch for any weak spots. So all we have to do is stand our ground and take out the Alpha. That'll scare the rest off."

"Well, quite basic but it will do." Professor Port nodded. "Alright, do go through the assigned readings on more advanced tactics. That will be all for today. And remember, stay vigilant."

"Not bad." Weiss nodded. "But I suppose you know your stuff in destroying Grimm."

"Hey, I've been studying Weiss, but Beowolves are kinda easy to figure out." Ruby shrugged. "I've taken out plenty in the past."

"And I will take your word for it." Weiss smiled. "Just remember that some Beowolves are smarter than the average Grimm."

"But that's why I have my best teammate here!" Ruby grinned. Weiss rolled her eyeballs. She was tempted to say that reason would only work so many times. Still, she couldn't bring herself to it.

"Well, did you manage to scribble down what we need to give to Ren?" She said, putting emphasis on their most important task.

"Yeah." Ruby nodded. "Hopefully I got everything."

"I'll do a review." Weiss said. "Maybe I can just add a few things he should note down and at the same time fill in the gaps you have." Still, Weiss had a feeling she wouldn't have much to do. Ruby was a monster at anything she put her mind to.

"EVERYONE!" Came a voice.

Ruby and Weiss looked up to see Nora dashing into the classroom, not bothering whether she was going to barrel down the students already leaving. She ran right up to Jaune and Pyrrha and remained there, jogging on the spot.

"Nora?" Jaune frowned. "What the hell?"

"Nora, slow down." Pyrrha said in an effort to quell the excitable girl down. "What's going on?"

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!" Nora shrieked. "A REALLY BIG EMERGENCY!"

By now, everyone in the class had left, leaving Jaune, Pyrrha and team RWBY to deal with Nora's sudden appearance.

"What seems to be the problem?" Blake asked, frowning.

"Its Ren!" Nora exclaimed.

* * *

Everyone was huddled in team JNPR's room, looking as Nora placed a cold towel on Ren's forehead.

"So he's running a fever, has a very bad cough, has stomachache and threw up." Weiss summarized the different symptoms Nora explained earlier. "I think this is just a rather severe case of stomach flu."

"Weiss has a point Nora." Jaune said. "I mean, everything pretty much fits."

"That's what everyone thinks!" Nora said, her eyes widened. "But that's also why it's so easy to confuse with!"

"Confuse with what?" Yang frowned.

"Melpox Syndrome!" Nora answered.

"Melpox Syndrome?" Everyone said simultaneously, giving each other strange looks.

"Yes!" Nora nodded. "I have seen this happen before! And it is very life-threatening!"

"Nora, stop." Weiss said holding up one hand. "What sort of proof do you have? I have never heard of Melpox syndrome in any of the books I have read."

"Melpox syndrome started as a terrible disease from Grimm!" Nora said, glaring at everyone's obvious doubt. "Once before, Hunters and Huntresses tried using the deadly disease as a way to pacify the Grimm. But it was too _spready_! It infected humans too! And they fared much worse!"

Ruby blinked. "Okay... So, say Ren is infected with Melpox..."

"He is!" Nora insisted.

"Ok..." Ruby gulped, not wanting to stir an angry Nora. "Well, if he is infected with it, what's the cure?"

Nora grinned. "It is a HUUUUGE cocktail of ingredients of which has been compiled in this book!" Nora triumphantly held her little notebook up for all to see. "It details the three different ingredients needed to save Ren!"

"Very nice and all Nora." Weiss snapped. "But this still looks like stomach flu! What differentiates this from that?"

Suddenly, Ren groaned. Everyone gasped as he groped around for something. Nora instantly pushed the bucket next to his bed right to where his head was.

A good thing too, as Ren suddenly heaved, puke splashing into the bucket.

"Ugh!" Everyone exclaimed. Weiss clasped her mouth and went out to get air. Jaune's tongue had come out and everyone had a grim look on their faces. Yang however, stared at the vomit.

"Why's it got purple bits inside it?" Yang frowned.

Nora did so too, moving to check, gasping as she did.

"Purple vomit lumps!" She exclaimed. Outside, Ruby could hear Weiss gag. Blake had wisely gone over to the heiress and rubbed her back.

"This is bad!" Nora spoke unbelievably fast. "This is bad, this is bad, this is bad!"

"So, is that the confirmation of Melpox?" Jaune asked.

"Yup." Nora nodded.

Jaune looked at Pyrrha who returned with a look of concern, worry and serious doubt.

"Nora, let us talk for a minute ok? Please take care of Ren." Jaune said as he ushered the rest out.

* * *

"Okay. Now I'm seriously getting worried for Ren." Jaune said as the others gathered around.

"Worried for Ren as in he's got the worst sickness or the worst healthcare?" Weiss moaned as she tried to keep her lunch in.

"The sickness obviously." Jaune sighed.

"Seriously?" Weiss arched an eyebrow. "You can't be serious about actually listening to Nora?"

"I think it's weird too." Jaune frowned. "But I really can't chance it."

"Besides, Ren is our teammate." Pyrrha nodded firmly. "If his life is in danger, we have to help in any way we can."

Ruby stared at Yang, Blake and Weiss. Yang merely shrugged, unsure of what to say. Blake shared the same worried look that Jaune and Pyrrha did. Weiss was still cupping her mouth with her hands but complete disbelief flashing across her face.

_Don't hate me guys_... Ruby moaned inside as she took a breath. "Okay. We'll help." She spared a glance at her teammates.

Weiss's answer was plain as day. Her eyes went wide, as if she had been stung by a bee. Blake, nodded her agreement, though still frowning. Yang merely shrugged.

"Alright!" Ruby smiled. "Operation Melpox cure, begin!"

* * *

"So Nora..." Weiss asked as Ren hurled again. "What are the ingredients for the cure to... uh..."

"Melpox." Ruby whispered into her ear.

"Right..." Weiss nodded. "Melpox. The cure?"

Nora took out her notebook and flipped to the page containing the recipe for the Melpox cure. It would've have been more reassuring for Weiss if it didn't seem to be nothing more than a kid's coloring book with elaborate crayon drawings.

"There are three main ingredients for the Melpox cure! And thankfully, they can all be found in Vale!" She said excitably. "The first is the pollen of Harradel flowers! Who will handle this?"

Ruby raised her hand. "Me, and Weiss."

"It doesn't sound too hard." Weiss noted. "But what does it look like?"

Nora showed them the drawing of a strange plant with a bell-shaped flower. "You can find it in really moist places!"

"Alright." Weiss nodded. "I think I know some places."

"Great!" Nora beamed. "Next, the Congall Eel! It lives in really swampy places! Don't worry, they have really bright blue spots on them, so spotting them is easy!"

"Blake and I will handle that!" Yang lifted hers and her partner's arms. Blake gulped, a little unsure of walking through a swamp.

"Last!" Nora said, flipping the page. "The Rhotian mushroom!" She showed Jaune and Pyrrha a strange mushroom with brown and purple spots. "This thing grows in the Emerald forest! I saw tons of them during initiation as I was flying through!"

"Alright." Pyrrha nodded. "Jaune, up for it?"

"You bet!" Jaune smiled.

"I'll be staying here to look after Ren in case it gets worse." Nora said. "Good luck guys! And please hurry! The minute those purple vomit spots turn green, we are screwed! I mean, figuratively Ren is, but still, we'd be screwed without him, right?"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4:

"So Ruby," Weiss asked as they walked through the Forest of Forever Fall. "Tell me again how much you actually believe Nora's diagnosis?"

"Weiss..." Ruby sighed. "I'm not going to pretend that Nora's diagnosis is in no way weird. But I really don't think we have anything else to go back on."

"Ruby..." Weiss tapped her forehead. "I don't dislike Nora at all. But she is seriously more daft than a concussed Ursa. I mean, Melpox? Really?"

"C'mon Weiss." Ruby groaned. "She's just really concerned about Ren. And besides, you know we can count on her. She's saved our skin loads of times."

"I would never doubt her in a fight Ruby." Weiss huffed. "But there are other things in which I have my second thoughts."

"But that hasn't stopped you from trusting her. Right?" Ruby chirped. She gave a slight smile as she continued. "Remember how she made your day when you almost missed the due date for those books you borrowed?"

Weiss frowned as she thought back to that one time she had actually forgotten to return at least three books from the library. She had been going about her normal business when Nora suddenly bounced in front of her with a huge number of books in her own hands.

"Hi Weiss!" Nora had said in greeting. "Whatcha doing?"

"Nothing really..." Weiss had replied.

"Great!" Nora smiled. "Let's go speed dating!"

"What?" Weiss had said, utterly baffled. "What's speed dating?"

"I dunno." Nora blinked. "But it'll be fun!"

"Nora..." Weiss had frowned. "I doubt you'll have a lot of fun with something you don't know. Besides, I'm not..."

"Well, if you change your mind, I'll be in the library!" Nora hadn't waited for her to finish before dashing off. As Weiss shook her head, the girl's sudden remark had reminded her on the books due by evening that day.

Weiss tore through the halls in an attempt to return the library material punctually, which she did, though it meant a new challenge in attempting to avoid Nora's speed dating offer.

"Okay." Weiss smiled at Ruby. "I admit, I would've been in a lot of trouble if not for her. Still though, I would have been more grateful were she not so adamant about me saying no to the speed dates. What are they by the way?"

"Well..." Ruby started. "It's kind of like talking to a bunch of boys really quickly to see if you like them and if they like you. It's very on-the-surface."

"But how does that open up a relationship?" Weiss frowned. "I don't get how people think they can find soul mates without more in-depth interaction. True love needs to be built on a strong foundation of mutual trust and respect!"

Ruby blinked. "Where'd you get all that? Have you been secretly reading Blake's books?"

"I just believe there should be a more direct connection with you and whoever you like." Weiss stated matter-of-factly. "There needs to be..."

"Um, Weiss?"

"A, a bond! An understanding of character! Openness of heart and mind and..."

"Weiss!"

Weiss turned to look at Ruby, who now looked at the very large Ursa major that had emerged from the trees.

"Uh oh..." Weiss gulped, quickly drawing Myrtenaster. Unfortunately, the Ursa charged at full speed at the same moment.

"Move!" Ruby grabbed Weiss by the hand and ran full speed into the trees, rose petals billowing past Weiss's face. She spared a glance behind. The Ursa was barely just keeping up with Ruby's speed, knocking down anything in its path.

"Ruby! We have to get out of here!" Weiss yelled over the clamor of falling trees.

"I'm trying!" Ruby replied. "But there's just trees everywhere!"

"Get to that cliff!" Weiss said, pointing to Ruby's right. "Hurry!"

Ruby quickly changed direction, narrowly avoiding a tree and sped toward the stony outcropping, deploying Crescent Rose. With a single shot, she had propelled both herself and Weiss to the top.

The two girls glanced down at the Ursa, who now sniffed the air and, with a frightened growl, left hastily.

"That was strange..." Ruby frowned. "Why'd an Ursa run away?"

Something moved. With dread, Ruby and Weiss looked to see they had not managed to go onto a cliff. Instead, the 'cliff' was cracking apart from all directions. A huge tail with a yellow stinger burst out of the ground beneath.

"Jump!" Ruby screamed as she leapt into the air. Weiss had flipped off the rock, using an air step to break the fall.

The camouflaged Death Stalker now roared, shaking off the rocks it had used to hide itself against unsuspecting prey.

"So, any ideas?" Ruby said.

"I was thinking you had one..." Weiss gulped.

"What do you think Yang and Blake are doing?" Ruby asked as she twirled her scythe.

"Possibly better than us..." Weiss replied just as the Death Stalker swung its massive claw.

* * *

Blake swatted another fly that came close. She glanced down at her stockings to find them clogged with mud.

"Great. More washing..." Blake frowned. Somewhere to the left, Yang squelched through wet mud and puddles.

"Well, I suppose we should have come with swamp gear." Yang muttered.

"You suppose?" Blake stared.

"Okay, okay. We should have." Yang grumbled as she wrenched her foot out of thick mud. "I'm already getting sick of being stuck in mud."

"Well, you were the one who picked this particular one." Blake replied. "Guess we have to live with it."

Yang merely scoffed, continuing through the swamp. Finding a Congall eel proved harder than they had originally thought. Of course, a body of water would do, but they had been in the swamp for at least an hour now and had yet to find a pool of any kind.

"Seriously, do you think that Nora was being serious about this Melpox thing?" Yang frowned.

"The same way she was serious in combat class?" Blake smiled. "I remember something very funny happening to you that day."

Yang thought back to the time she finally squared off against Nora. Both of them were really strong and could take a punch. It was a contest between who could handle the other first.

Yang had powerful close-up attacks that could rattle an Ursa. Additionally, she was fast and agile. Nora however had enough to blow a wall of the class down.

The battle had been a nail-biter. Yang would attempt to get close with Ember Celica. However, Nora would just swat her off with Magnhild and follow up with a grenade shot. Yang would dodge it and repeat the process again, hoping to catch Nora off guard.

For what appeared to be a whole hour, the two girls sparred, neither giving in. In fact, they seemed to be enjoying the trade of blows. Yang would constantly spare a grin at Nora, who returned it with a toothy smile.

Eventually, the match was settled, but in the most ridiculous way possible. Nora had decided to charge in close to Yang, who decided to accept the offer by charging in as well. Whether it was fatigue or a misstep or just a thought by whatever force wanted the match to end already, both Yang and Nora had slipped forward, their heads crashing together and knocking the both of them out for three seconds.

Everyone had laughed as the match was concluded, Yang's and Nora's the loudest of all. That day, Yang realized that if there was anyone who she definitely would hang out with besides her teammates, Nora would be the one. She was funny and ditzy in so many ways, but she was someone you definitely did not want to mess with.

Besides, it made the rest of team JNPR quite happy that they had someone who could match Yang in bringing the pain.

"Hell, I replay that one every day in my head." Yang smirked.

"And as far as I know," Blake continued. "Nora and you have never once beaten each other. I guess what I'm trying to say is, Nora may be quite odd, but if there is something you can count her for, is that she'll be there. Whether it's for kicking someone's ass or making sure you don't die from Melpox."

"I suppose." Yang grinned. "Would've been nice if she could help us more with the eel."

"Well, she has to... AAAAH!" Blake shrieked as she slipped, her face falling into mud as she skidded down the slope.

"Blake!" Yang cried, running after her teammate, resulting in her also slipping down the same way Blake had.

The two girls tumbled through before landing in a small murky pool.

Yang burst out of the water, gasping for air. "Blake!" She called out while wading in the muddy water. "Where are you?"

Something burst out of the water behind Yang. She turned and saw Blake with a strange blue-spotted eel in her mouth. It's tail flicked about as Blake attempted to spit it out. Yang merely gaped as Blake failed, the wriggling of the eel causing her to swallow it whole instead.

Blake cupped her mouth, eyes going wide after realizing what she had done. Yang stared for a few seconds before chuckling.

"Good kitty! How's the fish? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Yang roared.

Blake merely glared. "Not a word Yang. Got it?"

* * *

Pyrrha and Jaune had finally found the Rhotian mushroom. To be honest, they had been worried that it would be the most difficult to find due to its tendency to grow in dry areas. Still, apparently a stroll in the Emerald forest did the trick.

What the real challenge now was that the dry area the mushrooms have decided to pick was the side of a mountain.

"Well..." Jaune gulped as he stared at the forest about a hundred feet below. "This is a problem..." The mushroom lay just beyond his reach.

"I guess life is filled with lemons." Pyrrha chuckled. "So, any ideas?"

"I suppose I could just hold you by your legs and you might be able to reach it." Jaune offered. Pyrrha stared at him before looking down on the ground.

"Uh, I don't think that would be a good idea." Pyrrha said, her face turning red.

Jaune blinked for a second. He then realized that Pyrrha wasn't exactly looking at the ground. She seemed to be looking at herself in general, her right hand fingering her skirt. Suddenly, his eyes widened.

"Oh... Uh, right. Sorry." He looked away, flushed with complete embarrassment. _What were you thinking idiot?_ He berated himself.

Pyrrha chuckled behind him. "Still, it sounds like a good idea. I could hold you and you could get the mushroom."

Jaune turned and saw Pyrrha smiling at him wryly. He felt a rush of heat flow through his face. "R-right. Uh, shall we get started then?"

"On your go fearless leader!" Pyrrha knelt down, hands outstretched.

Jaune gulped as he remembered the long drop below. _Just don't think about it..._ He told himself. He had a feeling it wouldn't work.

Then again, in times where nothing seemed it wouldn't work, he always had his teammates to stand by him. Pyrrha always had his back. Ren supported him all the way and Nora...

Nora was just good at being Nora. He remembered the time when he had no idea how to write down an essay for Boarbatusks. Nora had instantly jumped in and rambled for hours on how she and her dad once trapped dozens of them and sold their tusks for a hefty price.

It was then that Ren said that he was also there, and they had only worked to capture one.

Jaune had laughed at the revelation, but had finally found a new direction to take the essay. It didn't get a high grade, but it was still acceptable, at least.

_Heh. I wonder what kind of story you have for this situation Nora. Would it have made me feel better?_ Jaune wondered. At the same time, he already did.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5:

Ruby parried the Death Stalker's stinger, the force of the attack launching her a few feet away. She crashed against a rock, the wind knocked out of her.

Weiss landed just a few feet away, groaning as she got up. "Still alive Ruby?"

"Yeah." Ruby grunted as she got to her feet. "So, what now?"

Nothing much had really worked against the Death Stalker. Its carapace was too thick for bullets and melee attacks. Worse was actually its size. This particular one was at least three times bigger than the one they had fought during initiation.

"Like I said before," Weiss panted. "Waiting on you."

"Ugh..." Ruby moaned. "Really wish Nora was here now. She could probably crack its face or break its legs."

_Break its legs?_ Ruby thought at her last phrase. She watched the Grimm as it charged. There was no armor on its legs.

"Nora's a genius!" Ruby exclaimed as she and Weiss avoided the Grimm's stinger.

"How?" Weiss yelled as they landed.

"Go for its legs Weiss!" Ruby said, cocking Crescent Rose. "I'll hold it off!" At once, Ruby launched herself into the air, firing a barrage of rounds at the Grimm's soft spots between the carapace plates. Although it did no harm to the massive monster, it definitely got its attention.

As the creature turned upward, Weiss had dashed right under its belly. The monster's size was a problem, but it was something that served as a weakness to the small forms of the two girls. Myrtenaster rotated and Weiss swung, throwing out flaming arcs at the monster's legs.

The Grimm screeched as it toppled over. Weiss immediately used an air step, propelling herself upwards and onto the creature's back.

As the Grimm struggled to stand again, Ruby had rushed in, launching herself right at its tail and, with a rush of rose petals, sliced off the massive stinger.

The Death Stalker roared with rage and agony, it's useless tail smacking Ruby away. However, Weiss was now perfectly positioned, stabbing the thin blade of her weapon in between the plates of the Grimm's armor. A burst of light followed before the Death Stalker was completely encased in ice.

"Ruby!" Weiss yelled, boots moving through damp as she went to find her partner. "Ruby where are you?"

Something brushed against Weiss's feet. She turned and saw the Harradel flowers, the very thing they had been looking for. Its pollen was a strange white color as it fell out of the bell shaped petals.

Just a few feet away, Ruby lay face down in a small patch of the flowers.

_No..._ Weiss felt dread grip her heart. "Ruby!"

Weiss ran up to her, turning her over on her back. "Ruby answer me!"

The girl stirred. Weiss sighed with relief. _Thank God..._

Ruby groaned slightly, her body quivering. Weiss frowned at the strange motions her friend was going through. Did something happen? Weiss checked Ruby for any broken ribs.

Suddenly, Ruby sneezed, and act which caught Weiss completely off-guard.

"Woah!" Weiss exclaimed. "Ruby!"

"_Cough! Cough!_" Ruby sputtered. "Ugh..."

"Ruby! Are you okay?" Weiss asked.

"I think so..." Ruby straightened up. "But I must have inhaled a hell load of the pollen."

"You must have." Weiss nodded. "You've practically got it all over your face!"

Ruby dusted the pollen off. "Well, no biggie. At least we found the flowers."

Weiss turned to look at the huge flowerbed of Harradel. "I have to be honest, I never knew these things existed! We have to make notes!"

"Weiss..." Ruby moaned. "Let's worry about that later okay? Ren's health comes first." She got up to her feet and sneezed.

Weiss shrugged. "I suppose." Taking the bottle Nora had given them for the pollen, Weiss immediately started picking the flowers and pouring their white pollen inside.

_Maybe Nora's not so bad after all_. She mused as Ruby sneezed again.

* * *

"A little more..." Jaune said as the wind whipped around at his hair.

Pyrrha grunted as she lowered him again. Jaune was now fully suspended on the side of the mountain. He strained to reach the mushroom, his fingers lightly grasping it.

"Almost got it!" Jaune yelled. Extending as far as he could, he grabbed the cap of the mushroom and, with a small amount of movement, he managed to wrench the mushroom free.

"Pull me up! I have the mushroom!" Jaune smiled. "Pyrrha we did it!"

Jaune felt Pyrrha lift him up, his body scraping against the rocky wall of the mountain.

"Success?" Pyrrha asked, panting from exhaustion.

Jaune held up the mushroom triumphantly. "Success."

"Great." Pyrrha smiled. "Now we can... Ugh!"

Pyrrha's smile gave way to a grimace of pain as she clutched her left arm. Her breath came in gasps as she curled up on the ground.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune exclaimed as he rushed over to her. "What's wrong?"

Pyrrha panted as she gave a weak smile. "I think I might have pulled something..."

"Oh God..." Jaune shook his head. "I-I..."

"Jaune." Pyrrha held her hand up to stop him. "It's okay. I'm fine. Just some rest would do me good is all."

"But!" Jaune started again, but Pyrrha covered his mouth with her good hand.

"Relax." Pyrrha said reassuringly. "Remember, we did it for Ren. You don't have to feel guilty about this."

Jaune felt the warm touch of her hand on his lips, the same hand he had held when Pyrrha chose to forgive him after hurting her. Since then, he wondered whether he saw her as more than just a teammate. Could it be possible that he even liked her?

Something growled. Jaune looked up, away from Pyrrha and to the lone Ursa who had spotted them. It sniffed the air, hungry for blood.

"Pyrrha, just stay still and don't move..." Jaune drew his sword, stepping over her to stand between her and the monster.

"Jaune, be careful..." Pyrrha cautioned.

Jaune weighed his sword. It felt heavy, which was good. He wasn't cutting through an Ursa with a light tool. He deployed his shield. It felt solid and sturdy, good for blocking the Grimm's attacks.

Jaune breathed, getting into his stance, feeling his sweat on his forehead and the mushroom in the folds of his shirt. His heart accelerated with a twinge of fear, but he knew there was no running away. Pyrrha wouldn't have done that.

Nora wouldn't have either. She'd figure a way to ride it all the way back to Beacon. Jaune chuckled slightly at the thought.

Failing here meant Ren would never get better and Pyrrha wouldn't be getting out of this alive. It wasn't an option.

Jaune uttered a battle-cry as he charged the Ursa.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 6:

Nora emerged out of the bathroom. Washing Ren's puke bucket wasn't easy, but someone had to do it.

For a while now though, he hadn't been making a commotion. Sure, he had groaned and coughed and thrown up, but it seemed the Melpox wasn't getting worse.

"You think they believe me?" Nora asked the sleeping Ren. "You really think they did?"

Ren didn't answer. How could he? He was still sick.

Nora huffed. "I know Ren. You'll probably say it was a hell of joke. But then again, you'd never doubt me right?"

"I still remember the first time we fought Beowolves." Nora giggled. "They were soooo big, but we were soooo small. And there were dozens of them."

"But in the end, they were no match." Nora smiled. "That's because we promised to have each other's back. Didn't we?"

Ren's eyes slowly opened. Nora blinked as she stared back.

"We sure did didn't we?" Ren said weakly. "Though Nora, I think the first Grimm we took out were Ursi."

Nora blinked again. "Ursi and Beowolves! How could I forget?"

Ren closed his eyes, shaking his head. No matter what, even if it seemed like Nora never listened, it never seemed to matter. She would always be that little bit of golden sunshine in everyone's life, lighting up even the darkest moments.

He could already hear Nora faintly singing in the background.

_Don't you worry about the dark, I will light up the night with the love in my heart_

_I will burn like the sun, I will keep you safe and warm._

_Like the smell of a rose on a summer's day, I will be there to take all your fears away_

_With the touch of my hand I will turn your life to..._

The tune was completely off and Nora couldn't even hit the high notes. But Ren didn't really care.

Whether it was in combat or in her out of this world ideas, Ren couldn't imagine what life would be like without her. Nothing was ever dreary and boring as long as she was around, although it did include a fair bit of outrageous antics. But that was what was the most beautiful about her. And when anyone saw something that beautiful, would they let go?

Something beeped. Nora ran over to her scroll and opened up the messages. "Ren! It's wonderful!" She exclaimed with a wide, gleaming smile. "They've returned! And they have the ingredients for Melpox cure!"

Ren smiled. _Yup. As bright as gold..._

* * *

"Jaune..." Pyrrha frowned. "I'll be fine. You on the other hand..."

"Don't sweat it Pyrrha." Jaune grinned. "I can manage."

"That Ursa gave you a bruise on your leg." Pyrrha said, looking at his injured arm. "Even with your Aura, it's going to take a lot to heal it."

Jaune winced as the pain in his leg acted up again. Just as he stabbed his sword through the Ursa's heart, it had managed to strike him in his left leg, leaving a horrible bruise. It was no issue save for the fact that he wouldn't be walking properly for a while now.

"But your arm is in no condition to do anything!" Jaune replied. Pyyrha had pulled a muscle, and her arm's been limp for over thirty minutes now. Even if she could walk on her own, no way was she supporting Jaune completely.

"Well," Pyrrha sighed. "I was thinking you could just put your arm over my shoulders."

Jaune looked at her. True, the pain in his leg was starting to get worse. Maybe it was more than a bruise. It could have been a minor fracture for all he knew. And with Pyrrha being Pyrrha, she was probably going to scold him senseless for being too guilty about her injured arm.

"Alright then." Jaune said. "It really is starting to get bad..."

Pyrrha walked over, placing his arm over her shoulders. Jaune couldn't help but blush slightly as she came in close. He looked away, hoping that she wouldn't notice. Still, he spared a glance down at her face. To his utter surprise, she didn't meet his eyes. Instead, her cheeks were also flushed slightly red.

"L-let's go see how the others are doing." She stammered slightly. Jaune instantly realized one thing, and it was possible that she felt it too.

He was in love with his teammate.

"Right..." He replied. His mind was racing. How would he tell her? Could he do it now?

"Helloooo!" Came a cheery voice.

Jaune and Pyrrha looked up to see Yang with a bag squirming full of blue spotted Congall eels. "I see you two have gotten the mushroom!"

Jaune and Pyrrha glanced at the Rhotian mushroom in his hands. "Oh yeah." Jaune nodded. "It was tough though. I got hit by an Ursa..." At this, he gestured to his leg. "Pyrrha had sprained her arm, so there wasn't another option."

"Oooh." Yang's eyebrows rose. "I think the mushroom wasn't the only thing you guys found."

Jaune and Pyrrha looked at each other and finally blushed.

"I-it's not what you think!" Jaune waved his hand. "My leg just hurts a lot! Really!"

"Yeah right..." Yang snorted. "Let me know when the wedding's gonna take place okay?"

"Yang!" The both of them groaned. Then Pyrrha glanced around.

"Hey, where's Blake?" She asked.

Yang froze. "Uh..."

Suddenly, a violent groan was hurt, before a sound came over like someone had violently spat out something followed by a strange _slishy-slosh_.

"What was that?" Jaune asked, his face turning into a grimace.

"Yeah..." Yang scratched her head, looking sheepish. "See, we found a butt-load of those eels. Including the one that ended up in Blake's stomach."

"She _ate_ one?!" Pyrrha and Jaune exclaimed.

"Well, for a while, she did resemble a kitty having a good meal." Yang chuckled. "And then she started throwing up..."

"And you didn't bother helping her?" Pyrrha snarled.

"Hey c'mon!" Yang held her hands up in defense. "You have to give me credit! I tried to retch it out of her first!"

"How?" Jaune asked as another vomiting fit hit the Faunus girl.

Yang glanced at the two of them and then back to Blake, who appeared to be hunched over some bushes. Not bothering to answer, Yang hurried back to her partner.

"Well..." Pyrrha said, eyes still wide in shock. "I suppose it could have been worse..."

"No kidding..." Came a familiar voice.

Pyrrha and Jaune turned and saw Weiss supporting Ruby's arm over her shoulders.

"And what happened to you two?" Jaune was almost afraid to ask.

"We had to run from an Ursa major." Weiss recounted their events in Forever Fall. "But then we got chased by a Death Stalker instead. A really big one."

"But we knod the stuffang out of it..." Ruby smiled. Although a smile from the red-cloaked girl was always reassuring, Jaune knew this was anything but.

Ruby was flushed red, her eyes half open and her nose runny. She was speaking with a slurred voice and every now and then, she coughed violently.

Weiss groaned. "We got the pollen of those flowers alright. Though Ruby might have inhaled a smidge of it."

Jaune frowned. "A smidge?"

Weiss blinked. "Okay, she inhaled quite a lot. And she's been like this ever since..." As if on cue, Ruby sniffled, bring up one hand to wipe her nose.

Weiss shook her head. "Please tell me all this was at least worth it..."


	8. Chapter 8

Epilogue:

Since then, things seemed to have quieted down around Beacon. Professor Ozpin glanced at his watch as he took another sip of coffee.

"I must say, that Melpox outbreak was quite the scare." He said.

"It was good that we had all the affected teachers see the doctor." Glynda Goodwitch commented. "However, I fear that some of our students also came down with it."

"How strange that a sickness once so poisonous to the Grimm could affect humans equally..." Ozpin mused. "It's almost as if the Grimm want to destroy mankind by any means necessary."

"Assumptions aside sir." Glynda said as her bespectacled eyes peered through some reports. "It seems one of our students has actually found a natural remedy to Melpox."

"Oh?" Ozpin's eyebrows rose. "Who might that be?"

Glynda rolled her eyes. "It is utterly baffling, but it appears Ms. Valkyrie in team JNPR has quite the recipe for an effective cure. Pollen of Harradel flowers, Congall eel and the spores of the Rhotian mushroom."

Ozpin lifted his mug, speaking before drinking. "Anything Professor Peach would like to tell us about these peculiar ingredients?"

"I have the report here sir." She held up a small file, no doubt filled with the good professor's notes. "You may be interested to know that while the Rhotian mushroom is used in some delicacies, I cannot fathom how the Harradel flower and Congall eel actually serves as a remedy."

She pushed her glasses up before continuing. "First of, the pollen of the Harradel is quite effective in causing inflammation of the throat and nasal tracts and, in serious cases, fever and especially delirious behavior. The Congall eel itself has a poisonous mucous that should not be consumed unless properly treated."

"Mmmhmm..." Ozpin nodded as he looked into the academy courtyard. "Still, to think she of all people would have a cure. Does it work?"

"Numerous students have already recovered. It seems teams RWBY and JNPR acquired enough for a large amount of medicine." She said. "Still, they left the school grounds and wandered off into the Emerald forests and who knows where to do that. Such actions should not be condoned."

"Now Glynda, while I am fully aware of what they did, do remember that such actions helped us to avoid an epidemic." Ozpin smiled. "The whole school owes them our thanks."

Glynda frowned. "Am I to ascertain that your comment is supposed to convince me to overlook this?"

"Perhaps." The headmaster frowned as he drank more coffee. "How are they doing now?"

* * *

Weiss sat down on the chair beside Ruby's bed, keeping a good distance. Not too far to show that she cared for her friend, but not too close to catch the dreadful illness Ruby had contracted from the pollen of Harradel flowers.

The girl was running a slight fever today. Also, she was coughing very violently and had a blocked nose. Normally on any day, Ruby would be hyped up with a bunch of things to do, most of them rather pointless to Weiss. But now, she was lying on a bed in Beacon's infirmary with a cold towel on her forehead.

"Ugh..." Ruby groaned. "How did this happen?"

"Trust me." Weiss said as she gingerly pulled the blanket over. "You're better off not thinking about it."

"This has to be the worst thing anyone can go through..." Ruby sniffled. "Spending a whole week in bed with nothing to do but look through boring lecture notes."

Weiss herself had made the notes for her and, even if she were affronted at Ruby's remark, she knew that Ruby wasn't exaggerating on her situation.

Jaune and Pyrrha fared the best. Pyrrha only had a pulled muscle while Jaune had a slight fracture in his leg. It was only thanks to his Aura that the damage wasn't too great. However, he was also told not to move around till it had completely healed. Weiss turned to look at Jaune glumly lying in the bed directly opposite Ruby's.

Blake had gotten the worst of them all. According to Yang, she had swallowed a whole Congall eel. Every now and then, she would hold up her puke bucket and the obvious followed. Weiss knew that she could just leave, but Ruby would have to put up with the disgusting retching till Blake had finished. But that wasn't the worst.

The worst part was that the natural medications derived for each of their situations had a very common ingredient.

Boiled Melforan cactus paste.

"Alright Ruby." Weiss said as she held up a small bowl of the stuff. "Time for the afternoon medicine."

"No..." Ruby protested through a blocked nose. "That stuff sucks... It's disgusting..."

"Now look here Ruby." Weiss said in a tone that registered not unrelenting firmness, but compassionate pity. "You aren't going to get better unless you take your medicine. Even if it is really disgusting..."

Movement came from the right. Weiss turned as Blake lifted up the bucket and...

Weiss covered her ears, but the resulting retch was louder than anything could describe. She winced as Ruby turned her head, eyes widening after seeing something that should have remained censored to human eyes.

"Oh my God..." She gasped. "Weiss, Blake's puke is..."

"Shut up, shut up!" Weiss whispered frantically. "It'll just make it all the more worse!"

Yang had now come over to Blake with a bowl of the same concoction that served as Ruby's medicine. Pyrrha had also readied some muscle relaxant for Jaune, who seemed very apprehensive about her smearing it on him. She seemed very apprehensive as well.

"GOOOOOOD MORNING EVERYONE!"

Everyone (except Blake who was hunched over the bucket) turned to see Nora and Ren wheel in a large trolley laden with a pile of fruits, bread and water.

"Good morning Nora." Weiss greeted. Everyone else (except of course, Blake) waved a hand in greeting.

"Thanks so much for saving Ren's life!" Nora beamed. "I'm so grateful to all of you! But not because we are really close or anything. I mean, we are close, but not that _close_ close."

Ren came in just as Nora was about to start on another circle of thoughts that probably wouldn't end. "What she means is, thanks for helping me with Melpox. And sorry for what's happened to you guys."

"Well, it's no biggie." Jaune smiled, wincing as Pyrrha touched his injured leg with a little too much force than was required.

Weiss stood up and walked over to the pair. "Tell me at least you brought something to help this lot?"

Ren glanced at Ruby coughing and sneezing violently, Jaune still groaning from pain with Pyrrha apologizing and Blake, who was still hunched over the bucket.

"Well," Nora gave the same bright toothy smile while gesturing to the huge tray. "We brought all this food!"

Weiss noted the large amount of fruit and bread stacked upon it. Then she noticed Nora digging through her pockets for...

...her notebook.

"Plus, I have loads of stuff for the conditions you guys have!" Nora said as she flipped through the pages. "So, for Blake, here's what Ren and I need!"

Weiss pulled Ren to the side as Nora continued on. "Please tell me you are just going to let the teachers decide how to handle this?"

"I'll do my best." Ren replied with a thumbs-up as Nora concluded.

"Ren and I will handle this on our own! Don't worry, it's not an excuse to hang out. I mean I'd love to but, that'd be weird right?"

Silence. For a minute, Nora wondered if she had managed to get the attention of everyone in the room. She thought for a bit, placing her hand on...

The trolley slipped out from under her and she tumbled, landing on her back. Additionally, the trolley flipped over, dunking water, fruit and bread all over the floor, some of it onto herself.

"Ooh..." She blinked, regarding the mess in the room. Everyone stared for a few seconds.

Nora stood up, wiping peach slices off herself. "Aww. It's broken..."

Ruby, Blake, Yang and Jaune's laughter exploded through the infirmary. Pyrrha made a failed attempt to hold in her giggling while Ren and Weiss merely looked at each other.

"For some reason, I feel better now. Hehe..." Blake chuckled slightly, her face still pale.

"What would you call this?" Ruby said through a blocked nose.

"Laughter is the best medicine?" Weiss frowned upon hearing Ruby's remark.

"Wow!" Nora exclaimed, flipping onto her feet. "Who knew laughter beats Melforan cactus remedies! We need to find a way to commercialize it! Weiss, do you know how we can feed laughter to someone? Wait, you can't eat it, can you?"

"I know!" Nora raised her finger in triumph. "We'll put forward an idea to mix laughter into conventional medicine! Weiss, can your family do that?"

"Nora?" Ren frowned.

"Yes?" She blinked.

"I don't think Weiss meant that laughter served as a medicine." He finished. "She probably means that a small bit of humor may just help in cheering someone up."

Nora blinked again. "Oh, right. Heehee..."

"I don't think that means you should stop though..." He offered.

Nora beamed. "Alright! Then how about this story of Ren and I taking out King Taijitus?"

Ren smiled slightly as Nora rambled on again about a story from who knew where in her memory. _Yup. Just like gold._


End file.
